Showing posts with label KC Royals offense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KC Royals offense. Show all posts

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Royals Take Series Against Indians

With a strong performance from Danny Duffy and some timely hitting, Kansas City was able to defeat Cleveland today, 5-3. The win gave Kansas City a series victory over their struggling AL Central rival, and the Royals have now won eight of 12.

Duffy, who was filling in for the injured Kyle Davies, was able to escape several jams and struck out six in five innings of work. He gave up eight hits, but was also able to pick off two runners. Joakim Soria picked up the save, his 20th in 26 chances.

Offensively, the Royals were aided by Alex Gordon, who has been putting on a clinic during Kansas City's hot streak. In the month of July, Gordon batted .323 with four home runs and 13 RBI, and has raised his average on the season to .302. Gordon's emergence, paired with strong seasons from Jeff Francoeur and Billy Butler, has given the Royals offense some much-needed consistency.

Kansas City has tomorrow off, then starts a home series against Baltimore on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 pm

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Royals Blow Out Rockies

We might not have an NFL season, but the Royals were on the winning end of a football looking score today in Colorado. Kansas City's offense exploded late, giving the Royals a 16-8 victory over the Rockies.

Kansas City's offense put up staggering numbers this afternoon, which helped it overcome some poor pitching and defense. The Royals set a franchise record with 12 extra base hits, and Melky Cabrera enjoyed a monster game from the plate. Cabrera hit home runs in the first and third inning, giving Kansas City a quick 6-0 lead.

Colorado didn't go away quietly, however, and soon cut the lead to 6-5 with a huge fifth inning. The Royals quickly answered back, scoring six runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Kansas City ended the day with 21 hits, a season high.

Kansas City will get back to its American League schedule tomorrow, when they travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox. Game one starts at 6:10 p.m., and Jeff Francis (3-9) will get the start for the Royals.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Are the Royals Finished?

It looks like the end of the line for the Kansas City Royals. A four game losing streak has lowered Kansas City's record to 20-21, and the Royals are now in third place in the AL Central. It appears that the magic Kansas City had early in the year has run out, and the Royals are still a team of the future.

Monday's disaster against Cleveland was the culmination of poor pitching and a stale offense. Kansas City didn't look a whole lot better in last night's 7-3 loss either. The Royals' pitching staff has been hit by the injury bug, which has forced them to call up more young players and attempt to patch up what was already an average at best rotation. Adding to the Royals' woes is the fact that Kansas City's offense has nearly vanished into thin air suring the team's six game losing streak. When you can't pitch well or get hits, you probably aren't going to win many games.

If the losing continues, the Royals will have no other choice but to groom the team for next year. Kansas City has already called up some of its top prospects, and may bring up several more. At least the team has shown some promise for the future, no matter how the 2011 shapes up.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Eric Hosmer is the Real Deal

Just when it looked like the Royals' season was starting to slip away, Kansas City rebounded to take a series from the Yankees. Rookie phenom Eric Hosmer led the charge in an 11-5 beatdown at Yankee Stadium last night, blasting two homers to give him three for the series.

Hosmer had a lot of hype surrounding him when he was called up to the major leagues, and rightfully so. He was leading the minor leagues in hitting and had been billed as one of Kansas City's top prospects. How quickly he adjusted to the major leagues has many now billing him as the next big thing, and I am one of them. The guy just destroyed the Yankees in one of the biggest and most intimidating stadiums in all of sports. Clearly, he is ready for prime time, and he could be a piece the Royals build around for the next ten years - if Kansas City can hold on to him.

Hosmer's power has already had a positive effect on the rest of Kansas City's lineup. Billy Butler had four hits yesterday, and he other hitters can expect protection as long as Hosmer is blasting home runs. The Royals had a lot of guys who could hit and get on base, and the addition of a power hitter may be what pushes Kansas City's offense from good to great.

The Royals travel to Detroit today to face the Tigers' Justin Verlander, who is fresh off of tossing a no hitter. Should be a great test for Hosmer and the rest of Kansas City's offense.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Royals Drop Home Series to A's - Francis Still Winless

The Royals finally hit a speed bump at home, dropping its latest series to the Oakland A's. Kansas City lost the final game of the series 5-2, dropping its record at the K to 15-8 this year. The Royals are 18-16 overall, and still remain in second place in the AL Central.

Jeff Francis yet again failed to earn a win, and the Royals starter might hit Independance day before he notches a victory at this rate. Francis isn't pitching terribly, and the Royals had an idea of what they were getting with the veteran. The lefty has a career ERA of 4.79 and an overall record of 55-54, and this season his ERA sits at 5.09. The Royals just need Francis to pitch decently and keep them in games, and he was able to do that in his last start. The Royals offense couldn't get anything going against the A's Tyson Ross, who is off to a solid start this season.

Kansas City is off today, and travels to New York to face the Yankees tomorrow. The matchup with the Yankees gives the Royals an opportunity to prove if they are for real or not to the entire nation. Don't hold your breath.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Royals Blast Orioles, Take Series

Kansas City's offense caught fire again last night, as the Royals humiliated the Orioles 9-1. The win gave Kansas City the series, and after losing six straight, the Royals have rebounded to win five of its last six.

Bruce Chen had yet another solid start, and has established himself as Kansas City's top starter this season. Chen improved his record to 4-1 for the season, and the lefty has brought some consistency to a rotation that has been up and down all year. Following the win, the Royals announced that top prospect Eric Hosmer will be called up from the minors, while the struggling Kila Ka'aihue will be demoted to Omaha. Hosmer will join an offense that has been one of the best in the majors this season, and his gaudy minor league stats have shown he is ready to take on the big league.

The Royals have gone 14-6 at home this season, and will look to continue its dominance in Kansas City tonight against Oakland. The Royals will face a talented pitcher in Gio Gonzalez, however the A's offense hasn't been anything to write home about this season. I expect Hosmer to give Kansas City a boost, and the Royals should have no trouble at least taking the series from the A's.

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